Father of missing Fitchburg boy wants custody of 2 siblings

The father of Jeremiah Oliver, the 5-year-old Fitchburg boy missing since September, has said it again and again: He is fighting for his kids.

Jose Oliver, 41, of New Britain, Conn., said that until this week, he had not seen any of his three young children since their mother, Elsa Oliver, moved out of his Worcester apartment at 15 Mendon St. some time in late 2011 or early 2012.

"I couldn't be there (for them)…she never answered her phone," he said to a horde of reporters and cameramen during a recent vigil in front of that house.

Ms. Oliver, 28, and her boyfriend, 23-year-old Alberto L. Sierra Jr., are being held on charges related to Jeremiah's disappearance, which is being treated as a possible homicide. They have not said what happened to him.

Mr. and Ms. Oliver's 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter are in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families, but Mr. Oliver said he is seeking custody of the children.

When Ms. Oliver took the children in 2012, Mr. Oliver said, he tried to contact her but was unsuccessful.

He has given different reasons for the separation. During the vigil last week on Mendon Street, he said he was unsure why she left. He told The Boston Globe that it may have been because he was using drugs.

During a phone interview Friday evening, he told the Telegram & Gazette that he thinks it was because "she was seeing someone else" and then took out a restraining order against him because she did not want him to find out.

But in an affidavit dated March 20, 2012, Ms. Oliver wrote that she was afraid for her safety after an encounter with her husband two days earlier while she was walking to the store.

"He grabbed my arm really fast and forcefully and threatened that if I wouldn't move back with him then he would harm me really badly," she wrote.

She described previous episodes of alleged abuse, including one claiming that her husband struck her in front of their older son. She also wrote that in 2005, Mr. Oliver "chased me with a kitchen knife," and while she was seven months pregnant he "started throwing cans towards me so I hide (sic) in the bathroom while he tried to open the door forcefully."

But on Friday, Mr. Oliver said that was not true and he "never put my hands on her."

In restraining orders filed against a spouse in Probate and Family Court, the defendant, in this case Mr. Oliver, has a right to contest an order and seek visitation and custody rights for any children, according to probate court procedures.

However, Mr. Oliver did not exercise that right when the restraining order was first issued in March 2012, or when the order was renewed by Ms. Oliver nine months ago, according to court records.

On Friday, he said he was unaware that he could do so at the time, but is now trying to get the order lifted.

The restraining order prevents Mr. Oliver from contacting the children in any way without written permission from the court.

Earlier this week, DCF allowed him to see his son and daughter, he said, adding that they seem to be doing well.

If he is granted custody, Mr. Oliver said he would live in New Britain and would support them with the income he receives through disability benefits.

Despite having served time in jail and previous struggles with substance abuse, Mr. Oliver said he has been drug-free for two years and is ready to be a father to his children.

Between 1990 and 2000, then in his 20's, Mr. Oliver faced charges that included possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; theft; breaking and entering; and possession of a dangerous weapon, as well as assault and battery.

In 1997, he was sentenced to six months in the Worcester County Jail for possession of heroin. Mr. Oliver declined Friday to comment on his drug or criminal history.

He said there will be a prayer ceremony for Jeremiah at 4 p.m. Dec. 28 at 170 Oak St. in New Britain, the town in which the three children were born before the family moved to Worcester. Mr. Oliver is originally from Puerto Rico. He said Ms. Oliver's family lives in Florida.

Family and friends also planned a search of the area in Fitchburg where Ms. Oliver and the children were living when the boy was last seen. It was scheduled for 10 a.m. at 276 Kimball St.

Find Alli Knothe at aknothe@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @KnotheA.

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